State Senate considers monthly $2 natural gas surcharge

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Senate is considering allowing natural gas companies to ask state regulators to impose a $2 surcharge on monthly bills to help recover costs for replacing aging infrastructure.

The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill on Tuesday.

Senators who back the measure say companies need to replace aging pipes to address safety concerns. Opponents say gas companies shouldn’t be asking for extra money to do a job they should have been doing all along.

A report last year by the American Gas Association found that 19 states had mechanisms for full infrastructure cost recovery for gas companies.

Maryland analysts say the surcharge could generate $36 million a year, if the maximum surcharge is assessed on all existing gas customers.